Omnipotence
by darthexus
Summary: Sith are taught from a young age that power is everything. One who wield infinite power may accomplish whatever they wish. But they fail to adequately convey the burden of immense power, as some will learn.


Omnipotence

Darth Exus

Darth Exus stood eagerly on the _Annihilator's_ bridge. Despite the ship's decrepit appearance, the _Annihilator's_ aptitude for aerial combat surpassed most other ships in the galaxy. At the moment, Exus merely used the powerful ship for seemingly trivial tasks. Outside Exus's bridge window, the sacred Sith planet known as Korriban was under assault. Republic forces were gathered in droves, high-class cruisers attempting desperately to penetrate Korriban's defenses. Kellar, one of Darth Exus's most eminent lieutenants, bellowed, "Dispatch as many ace squadrons as possible to board their ships!" Exus responded quickly, "That won't be needed if you could all remain relatively silent throughout the next thirty seconds." Although they were perplexed by his command, his crew members instantly obeyed. _Excellent,_ thought Exus, _Now I shall wreak havoc with the force._ A mere fifteen seconds after Exus's meditation started, the Republic fleet committed a fatal mistake. Two of the Republic's lead cruisers crashed into each other, leaving the thousands of crew members on board both of the vessels dead. Exus's crew was startled, until a reassuring glare from their leader asserted that Exus's powers had been at work. In the window overlooking the space battle and Korriban, Exus could make out one specific location. Billowing smoke appeared near Dreshdae, the site of the vacated ancient former Sith Academy. The former academy had once been prosperous and respected, now it was little more than a speck of dust on Korriban's vast surface. Suddenly, Kellar left his post and bolted toward Exus. "Sir, you have an incoming transmission from Darth Vorrain!" Kellar informed, immediately returning to his post after relaying the message. Exus sighed, as Vorrain was far from his favorite fellow Sith. As if on cue, a large blue flickering projection of the Selkath dark lord appeared right in front of Exus. "Get down to the surface and help your betters, insect!" Vorrain commanded. Vorrain had been a part of Exus's early training, and he was never fond of Exus. He thought of Exus as weak, too sympathetic, and undeserving of the mantle of Sith lord. Exus responded calmly, "Of course." On every other occasion, Vorrain would have seized the opportunity to mock Exus's cool response, but he had too little time. As Vorrain's hologram representation vanished, Exus let out a stern command, "Plot a course for Dreshdae, maximum speed." Exus's loyal crew immediately did as he asked. This was the aspect no other Sith saw, the blind loyalty accomplished without employing unwarranted torture or belligerence. Exus had the most fawning, servile crew he could ask for; and in return he treated them well. In a mere fourteen galactic standard minutes, Exus was on Korriban's surface. Exus possessed an ability he had withheld until now: cell manipulation. Because Exus had a special connection to the midichlorian portion of the cell, the rest of the cell was under his control as well. With this power, Exus could do anything he wished. But all he wanted to do for now was eliminate the Republic forces. Exus stared sorrowfully at the thousands of hapless Republic troopers, most truly believing they were fighting for a good cause. Unfortunately, they had to die. With only a minuscule portion of his strength, Exus conjured up a massive vortex of dark side energy. Before they knew what was even happening, the vortex swallowed legions of Republic soldiers, glowing red with the satisfaction of a sufficient amount of victims to sate its blood-lust. The vortex only dissapeared after every single Republic soldier in Dreshdae had been consumed by its energy. Every other Sith lord and acolyte stared in awe of Exus's power, but Exus merely stood unamused. Exus basked in the fear he had created, amplified by the sheer power of the dark side on Korriban. Linivus, a highly respected Sith lord who Exus found one of the most reasonable, spoke first, projecting his voice across the battlefield with the force, "It appears you've grown a bit since your days at the academy, Exus." Linivus's remark was followed by laughter, a hard feat to accomplish among some Sith. As a Sith, Exus had been taught that restraint is a tool of the weak. Yet all Exus had done from his first day at the Sith academy is restrain himself. Exus responded to Linivus's lighthearted jest, "I guess you must've been a good teacher, because I know Jagg wasn't." More laughter came from the usually austere Sith. Jagg, the most tender-hearted of all Sith, laughed along as well. Every single Sith on the Dreshdae battleground laughed, most being completely and perplexingly out of character. Exus looked at the carnage he had caused, then smiled with satisfaction. "If that's all you need from me, I'll be going now." Exus said, heading back to his docked flagship before anyone else could speak.

Acolyte Tal'or

"He's too powerful, he could kill all of us without breaking a sweat!" Tal'or, a young and talented Twi'lek Sith acolyte, exclaimed. "Nonsense," Vorrain replied. "Exus is a weakling and he always will be." Tal'or was unsatisfied with Vorrain's callous response. "He summoned a blasted force storm in Dreshdae! I haven't heard of someone powerful enough to do that since Freedon Nadd!" Vorrain merely scoffed at the young acolyte. "If that's who you choose to idolize, I fear your time here with the Sith will be very brief." Tal'or made an effort to hide his satisfaction at Exus's accomplishment, but it was of little use. Clearly bothered by the acolyte's fascination with Exus, Vorrain spoke curtly, "Dismissed." Tal'or responded politely, "Yes, master." Once he finished his hasty walk outside of Vorrain's chambers, Tal'or took an hour of leisure in his quarters. For a Sith, leisure was meditation or combat. Tal'or preferred combat, but he had done that for three days in a row. Meditation was a necessity for Tal'or, especially since force powers were his weakness. Tal'or sat down slowly, focusing his rage into force energy. Just as he was about to reach a point of overwhelming anger, a silhouette appeared at his door. Tal'or's body shook violently, every bead of sweat he had immediately cascaded down to the floor; this was no ordinary man. Without a glimpse of his features, Tal'or could discern who this intimidating visitor was. Exus was here. "Hello, acolyte. How are your studies going?" An exceedingly unorthodox question for a Sith to ask, one that conveyed genuine care for Tal'or's success. Tal'or replied anxiously, "I...Good, I suppose." Exus stepped forward, revealing his features. "Stand up, acolyte." Exus was clearly the kindest of all Sith, but he also elicited extreme fear; Tal'or was unable to resist his command. "Yes, sir." Tal'or responded meekly, while doing as he commanded. Exus merely frowned. Immediately, Tal'or felt excruciating pain in his back and shoulders. The pain was so immense that he couldn't help but collapse back to the ground. "Correct your stance, acolyte. A Sith must be met with fear, your posture would be met with laughter." Tal'or gestured to his back and shoulders, incoherent from the pain being inflicted upon him. Exus explained, "The pain will haunt you for as long as you allow it to." Tal'or stood up again, attempting desperately to meet Exus's expectations for his stance. Exus remained completely still. Tal'or could sense Exus's dissatisfaction. "I was halfway to my ship when I heard of an acolyte, a promising Twi'lek that surpassed all others in combat. You've learned to embrace your rage, but that is only one of your many emotions. To truly be Sith, you must conquer each of your emotions, and you must embrace them. There is no other way. You show promise, but you must prove yourself once more. Tomorrow, meet me at dawn at the ancient Sith academy, not the one you've grown accustomed to." And then Exus left, leaving Tal'or with an unlimited amount of questions.

Senator Rutlon Kessen

"I will not support a bill that allows the Republic to be crushed by the Sith!" Senator Otaka cried, evoking raucous cheers from a majority of the senate. "All this bill proposes is a slight decrease in our military budget, nothing that would damage the war effort." Senator Nalling countered, failing to inspire anyone. Nalling was the least corrupt member of the senate other than Kessen, and the two often supported each other when no one else would. If it weren't for Otaka's main donor Czerka Corporation, Otaka would probably support the military funding decrease as well. Finally, Kessen spoke up, "I understand the concerns of my colleague, the esteemed Senator Otaka. These concerns definitely have some validity. However, this bill would only serve to eviscerate the Republic's reliance on massive loans, and encourage efficiency in our military's spending. I have personally ensured that this bill will not affect our forces' ability to serve faithfully in battle. I exhort you all, colleagues; vote for this bill!" Even the corporate drones that occupied the senate room could not refrain from clapping. Kessen had always been charismatic, fortunately for Nalling and the rest of the Valor party. "I agree with Senator Kessen! As should everyone who wishes for the Republic's stability and safety from bankruptcy!" Senator Jimir announced, drawing enthusiasm from some of the more uncorrupted senators. No counter was heard against the bill on the senate floor from then on. After a prolonged silence, Chancellor Halpen spoke up, "Senators! Now that each argument has been heard, you may cast your votes!" After Halpen finished speaking, the display embedded in of each senator's moving platforms lit up. _**Do you support or oppose the Bankruptcy Prevention Act?**_ The screen read, with the support and oppose buttons right below it. Without a second thought, Kessen voted to support the bill. Only time would tell if his colleagues agreed with him.


End file.
